PF GOVERNMENT SHOULD TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILTY OVER THE DEMOLITION OF “ILLEGAL” HOMES AND FIND A LASTING SOLUTION BEFORE IT GOES NATIONAL WIDE. After the over 400 houses that were demolished by the Kitwe City Council on allegations that the structures were built on plots that were dubiously acquired. There are new speculations that the demolition exercise is likely to go national wide with Choma looking to be the next stop. Now, this should be of grave concern to every well-meaning Zambian bearing in mind the anguish that the victims of this inhuman exercise have to go through. And the PF government has to take responsibility over this sad development rather than politicizing this matter at the cost of the poor people they claim to be representing. One can argue to say these house owners are to blame for going ahead to build a structure without the right documents in place, in as much as this can be true, the fact of the matter still remains that the PF government needs to take responsibility and offer us a lasting solution to this predicament. Knowing too well that PF in opposition was aware of this illegality in the administration of land, and in their 2011 – 2016 manifesto under Local Government and Housing Development they outlined how they intend to tackle this challenge and I quote “In order to establish a system of local government which will promote local economic development, improved delivery of essential infrastructure and services through local self-government the PF government among other things shall: -Upgrade squatter settlements into statutory and improvement areas in order to improve the living standards of the inhabitants;” and on Land Development the PF Manifesto states and I quote “Under the MMD government access to land in urban and peri-urban areas has been politicized leading to unplanned development. Further there has been gross political interference in the administration of land by local authorities leading to lack of acquisition of title deeds by some developers who in turn cannot use their developed land as security for any form of credit finance. To redress these problems and in order to accelerate social and economic development the PF government among other things shall:” - Prevent displacement of local communities by the urban elite or foreign investors in rural areas; - Regularize ownership of untitled properties in towns and cities; The question that still lingers in my mind is, bearing all these promises in mind; is demolishing a house of poor a Zambian who is a victim of an inept system of governance the best solution the PF government can offer? If the demolitions continue that would mean it’s indeeed the best solution our government can offer and they lied when they promised us that to rectify this irregularity among other things they shall: - Upgrade squatter settlements into statutory and improvement areas in order to improve the living standards of our people - Prevent displacement of local communities by the urban elite - Regularize ownership of untitled properties in towns and cities If this trend continues then we are doomed as a nation. What do I mean? Any government worth its salt should be able to understand that property law is key to the implementation of social and economic development, and PF government has admitted to this fact by stating in their manifesto under Land Development and I quote “Under MMD there has been gross political interference in the administration of land by local authorities leading to lack of acquisition of title deeds by some developers who in turn cannot use their developed land as security for any form of credit finance”. My humble advice to the PF government as a concerned Zambian youth is that they should treat this challenge of unplanned development with the seriousness and importance it deserves. Am of the view that the PF manifesto by stating that PF in government shall “regularize ownership of untitled properties in towns and cities;” the seriousness and understanding the importance of this policy statement shall be seen by the implementation of property systems that will stop the demolition of unplanned developments. This may sound too simple or too complex. But consider whether it is possible for a property to be used productively if they do not belong to something or someone. Where do we confirm the existence of these properties and the transactions that transform them and raise their productivity if not in the context of formal property systems? Where do we record the relevant economic features of assets if not in the records and titles that formal property systems provide? It is formal property that provides the process, the forms and the rules that fix assets like houses in a condition that allows us to realize as them active capital. As you may have known, in Zambia our principle problem is not the lack of entrepreneurship: Beside these so called illegal houses, a number of our people have accumulated millions of kwacha of real estates during the last 20 years. What most poor Zambians in these squatter settlements lack is easy access to the property mechanism that could legally fix the economic potential of their assets so that they can be used to produce, secure or guarantee greater value in the expanded market. Just as a dam needs a hydroelectric plant to produce usable energy, assets need a formal property system to produce significant surplus value. In conclusion I will say, a befitting property system will not only be the suitable solution to this spontaneous developments but it will also spur entrepreneurship among our people. By Kachingwe P Singoyi
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 05:50:45 +0000
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